Come Back
by Aoi Hoshi Chan
Summary: It's a oneshot songfic to the song 'There You'll Be,' and it's a G/V. It's been done, I'm sure, but..... meh. I had to write this. It is FLUFF! Fluff and syrup and KAWAIINESS! Read and review por favor.....


Disclaimer: DBZ isn't mine. Neither is the song "There You'll Be." It's by Faith Hill. It's a gorgeous song, though. We're singing it in choir and it SCREAMED Videl and Gohan. So I wrote a fic. DON'T SUE ME!  
  
A/N: Grab some tissues. You may need them.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
*When I think back on these times  
  
And the dreams we left behind  
  
I'll be glad 'cause I was blessed to get  
  
To have you in my life*  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
The daughter of the Champ leaned against the railing of the house on top of the Lookout, sighing, and stared straight ahead. She knew Eighteen was behind her. For some reason, the usually stoic woman had taken a liking to the girl since they met a few hours ago.  
  
'A few hours?' Videl mused with a bitter sense of humor. "A few hours ago, a sick, evil villain and his big, pink cronie weren't out to take over the world. A young boy still had a daddy. A few hours ago,' she thought, something close to burning rage beginning to kindle inside, 'A few hours ago, an innocent man was still...'  
  
She shook her head. She cursed Buu. She cursed Babidi. She cursed the hands of the clock for ticking time away. She cursed her mother for not being there. She cursed her father because... she had too much more rage and was running out of people to curse.  
  
"Videl," came a low alto. "You okay?"  
  
"I'm fine," came her voice, too quiet and too quick.  
  
"Chichi says you should come inside and eat something."  
  
"I'm not hungry." 'Considering my stomach dropped out a little while ago.'  
  
Eighteen stepped forward. "Hey - "  
  
Videl turned around, her face suspiciously pink, and leaned back against the railing. "I'm fine," she said again, slowly and deliberately. She had made it quite clear that she believed that he was still alive.  
  
Eighteen held up her hands, pivoted, and walked back inside.  
  
Leaving Videl to doubt herself again.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
*When I look back on these days  
  
I'll look and see your face  
  
You were right there for me*  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
She leaned her arms against the railing and let her tear fall to the earth below. 'I will not cry,' she told herself too late. She rubbed at her eye. 'He's alive.'  
  
She slid to the floor, hugging her knees, and closed her eyes. Her rage had given way to that hot-water feeling she always got deep inside when she knew she wanted to sob until there was nothing left inside. But she never let herself. She was somehow afraid of what would happen if she did.  
  
In her mind's eye, he creeped up on her, wearing that stupid little grin that seemed forever slapped on his face.  
  
'Kami,' she thought, pushing the image out, 'I'm acting like he's already gone.'  
  
But that was just it. He wasn't gone. He was haunting her. He wouldn't leave her in peace. He puzzled her to no end. He always had! How could a smart kid be so dumb? How could a guy who didn't know how to treat a girl on the first date finish a month's worth of homework in one week? And even to her, the idea still seemed absurd... how could he fly?  
  
All she wanted was for him to just leave her alone...  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
*In my dreams I'll always see you  
  
Soar above the sky  
  
In my heart there'll always be  
  
A place for you, for all my life*  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
She opened her eyes and tried to concentrate on something else. Anything but the sick feeling in her chest. Anything but the grieving families inside the building. Anything... anything but Gohan...  
  
His name opened the floodgates. She threw caution to the winds, ducked her head to her knees and started rocking herself, making tiny hiccup noises and taking shuddery gasps as she cried. She felt uncomfortably hot all over, and freezing at the same time, but she didn't care. Funny how she never knew... she'd read of heartache, but never thought her heart would actually hurt...  
  
She didn't know how long she sat there, unmoving and undisturbed, caught up in her wild emotions that she's been bottling up so long. It must have been a good while, because the sun looked different when she finally had no more tears or energy to push them out. It looked more yellow, less white. Old.  
  
She leaned her back against the railing for full support. Her head hurt, her abdomen ached, and she still took sporadic, shuddery breaths. And she was so tired... yet, weak and tired though she was, she felt better.  
  
Then she found she no longer had the energy to push things out of her head.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
*I'll keep a part of you with me  
  
And everywhere I am, there you'll be*  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
They rushed at her like a tsunami. Memories of school, of Saiyaman. But mostly those training sessions at his house.  
  
Had she been fully conscious, she may have smiled, but as it was, she was drifting somewhere between the black that so wanted to pull her in and the sunlight so warm on her skin.  
  
Those afternoons were so happy. Laughs came without a price. Gohan and his family were so far away from anyone - the air was clearer and it lacked the boisterous bustle of cars and people... there was just his mom. And his cute little brother, Goten. And Gohan. And her.  
  
She often wondered whether Gohan hadn't done something extra to help her bring out her ki that first day. She'd peered curiously at it between his hands when he demonstrated. She had tried so hard to do it just as effortlessly - no nerd from the country was going to be better than her at ANYTHING - but it was only when she stopped tensing herself and relaxed did that little pinprick start to shine. She had dropped it, satisfied, and it disappeared. She'd looked up into his face, and he was wearing his grin. She suspected one was on her face as well.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
*Well you showed me how it feels  
  
To have the sky within my reach  
  
And I always will remember  
  
All the strength you gave to me*  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
^Flashback^  
  
"AAAAAH!" she shrieked with delight. She did a loop as she ascended, higher, higher, towards the sun, grabbing as much outer atmosphere as she dared, arms spread out wide. It scared and thrilled her, this notion that never again would she wonder what a bird's eye view was really like. Never having to ask for help with something on the top shelf was all short people's secret wish. Gravity no longer held her down.  
  
The freedom! The excitement! The POSSIBILITIES!  
  
She pushed further. She craved it now. She was hungry for air. She darted into a cloud formation, cutting through the mist like a knife, shooting out into the open sky, feeling the condensation on her skin evaporate. She coasted on an air current above another cloud, dipping her hand down and skimming its surface. She was only aware of her smile when her cheeks began to ache, but she couldn't wipe it off her face. She thanked Gohan mentally yet again, ducked under a very startled goose, and began to climb.  
  
...but something was wrong.  
  
In a flash, she knew. It was like when a driver feels his car lurch and realizes, in the middle of nowhere, that he's out of gas.  
  
She fought to maintain the suddenly dizzying altitiude and struggled to keep a clear head - failing at both. She searched deep inside for the energy, finding nothing. She rose maybe five feet, and freefell twenty. Running on empty, she did the only thing she could think of before her tank spluttered and died:  
  
She screamed bloody murder, and let go.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
*Your love made me make it through  
  
Oh, I owe so much to you  
  
You were right there for me*  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
She ran out of breath quickly. Compared to the rate of her ascent, her descent was infinitely too fast. She saw with alarming clarity the clouds she fell through, and the little domed house growing bigger... bigger...  
  
Then with a jerk, things halted. Her stomach dropped back into her abdomen, and her heart stopped jumping like an epileptic cricket. She fell limp with relief. Through her panicked breaths, she was only faintly aware of someone's arm under her shoulders and a voice saying, "You're okay. I'm here, I've got you. You're okay."  
  
As soon as she touched the ground, her knees buckled, and she kneeled. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Gohan's face quite close to hers, wearing a very concerned expression. "G... Gohan?" she asked, incredulous.  
  
He cracked a wry grin. "Know anybody else who can fly?"  
  
She fell against him, letting out all her breath.  
  
"Videl!" he exclaimed, taking hold of both her shoulders. She raised her eyes and looked him straight in the face. "You can't do this! I told you! You shouldn't go too high until you're more confident! You almost..."  
  
She managed to give him a pleading look.  
  
"I know it's tempting to go higher," he said when he saw her face, amused despite himself. "It is... big... and blue... inviting..."  
  
She unconsciously leaned forward.  
  
"Ah!" he jumped up, laughing nervously. He cleared his throat, checked both wrists for a watch, and looked to the sun. "Well," he said in a rush, "Whaddaya say we go get some lunch? I'm hungry! You hungry?"  
  
He offered her his hand. She squinted slightly in puzzlement before smiling slyly and grabbing it. He pulled her up and they headed in.  
  
^End Flashback^  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
*In my dreams I'll always see you  
  
Soar above the sky  
  
In my heart there'll always be  
  
A place for you, for all my life  
  
I'll keep a part of you with me  
  
And everywhere I am, there you'll be*  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Videl kept her eyes closed and let the memories flip like a slideshow. They didn't hurt so much when she concentrated in them alone and not the fact that she might not get to make any more. Between one slide and the next, a depression would settle on her chest. Then another happy memory would surface and it would flee.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
*'Cause I always saw in you  
  
My light, my strength*  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
She tentatively let herself focus on his face. A spasm of pain came when she let it take form, but it eventually left her completely. She studied it more carefully than she had ever dared when he was alive. Now, she supposed, it was all the more important to keep his face in her mind, since she would only ever see it there.  
  
Wait...  
  
What was that?  
  
She only remembered seeing that once. It was the first time she'd brought out her ki... but had that really been the only time that firefly-shine had been there in his eyes?  
  
Come to think of it, his totally black eyes always seemed to reflect some sort of light, be it the sun, moon, stars... they even shone when there was nothing else bright around.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
*And I want to thank you now  
  
For all the ways  
  
You were right there for me  
  
For always*  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
She shook her head slowly. How many other things had gone without her noticing? Exactly how many times had Gohan looked at her like that and she had been too busy to -  
  
Hold the phone.  
  
Gohan?..... looking at her... like... like that?!  
  
The puzzle pieces started fitting. That time Gohan got punched by the car thief, he could have easily blocked it, so why didn't he? ...it was because he was looking at her, wasn't it? That little funny look she got so many times - she remembered his jaw dropping to the ground when he saw that she cut her hair...  
  
She felt a funny tingle in her stomach, but it wasn't because she needed to cry again. By all rights, she could. Nobody would question it. After all, she had just lost one of her best friends... the one that could have been so much more...  
  
...but she found herself smiling. A tired smile, but a smile nonetheless. A thrill ran through her heart and she relaxed.  
  
She felt herself drifting...  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
*In my dreams I'll always see you  
  
Soar above the sky  
  
In my heart there'll always be  
  
A place for you, for all my life  
  
I'll keep a part of you with me  
  
And everywhere I am, there you'll be*  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
She was in a big, dark room, shivering from the cold. She walked through it - what she was looking for, not even she knew. She sensed something behind her, turned, and saw him. He was glowing brightly, but her eyes didn't start to water.  
  
She told him softly, "Everyone's so worried. Please tell me where you are... are you okay?"  
  
"I can't," he told her simply. "Not right now."  
  
"But you will come back?" she asked, a lump rising in her throat.  
  
He looked into her eyes, the shine and the look apparent - she had not imagined them. He cupped her chin in one hand. "I'm here now."  
  
She sucked in her breath as two strong arms encircled her and pulled her close. It was amazing how she just seemed to fit into him. She could feel the warmth and some strange feeling radiating from him - it was like touching fire without being burned. She pulled her arms in, laying her head on his chest in an attempt to escape the cold. He put his chin on top of her head and they stayed still like that for ages...  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
*And everywhere I am, there you'll be*  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
As Videl slept in the warm sunlight, her eyes moved rapidly back and forth beneath her lids, and she wrapped her arms tighter around herself. Her breathing was deep and even, her heartbeat slow and steady.  
  
A peaceful smile made its way across her face. She suddenly sighed - a contented sound.  
  
"Mmmm... Gohan," she breathed.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
*There you'll be...*  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
A/N: That was a mother trucker to type up! *shakes out fingers* But I'm fairly proud of it. G/V fluff... *happy sigh* Just please tell me if I should call it quits in the review. Buh-bye! 


End file.
